Fire ravages ancient Tibetan town in China's 'Shangri-La'

Fire ravages ancient town – Firefighters work to put out a fire in Dukezong, Shangri-La county, Yunnan province in southwest China on Saturday.

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Ancient Tibetan town ravaged by fire10 photos

Wooden houses in the ancient town caught fire and the blaze spread quickly.

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Ancient Tibetan town ravaged by fire10 photos

A fire truck navigates a narrow street.

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Ancient Tibetan town ravaged by fire10 photos

Firefighters battled the blaze that razed two thirds of the town for 10 hours.

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Ancient Tibetan town ravaged by fire10 photos

Much of the ancient town was turned to rubble, but no casualties were reported.

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Ancient Tibetan town ravaged by fire10 photos

This 2012 photo from travel agency TravelBirds shows Dukezong in all its original glory. The town is home to ancient Buddhist temples and a giant golden prayer wheel.

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Ancient Tibetan town ravaged by fire10 photos

Dukezong means "town of the moon" in Tibetan and was built during the Tang dynasty.

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Ancient Tibetan town ravaged by fire10 photos

The town is a popular tourist destination and is located in a region known as "Shangri-La."

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Ancient Tibetan town ravaged by fire10 photos

Narrow lanes are lined with ancient dwellings.

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Ancient Tibetan town ravaged by fire10 photos

Dukezong is laid out in the shape of a lotus flower according to theories described in Tibetan Buddhist scriptures.

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Story highlights

Ancient town popular with tourists ravaged by fire

Two-thirds of town was destroyed, but no casualties were reported

The town, Dukezong, is known for its well-preserved Tibetan dwellings

Fire has also sparked concerns over commercial development in ancient towns

Most of a 1,300-year-old Tibetan town popular with tourists was destroyed by a fire over the weekend, renewing concerns over commercial development at Chinese heritage sites.

The blaze, which raged for 10 hours on Saturday, destroyed at least 240 houses or two thirds of the ancient settlement of Dukezong in Yunnan province, southwest China, according to Xinhua state news agency.

The town was known for its well-preserved Tibetan dwellings and the fire spread easily from one wooden house to the other after starting in a small hotel.

Some 2,600 residents were evacuated from the scene, but no casualties were reported, Xinhua added.

The possibility of arson has been ruled out, and the cause of fire is still under investigation, local authorities said.

Dukezong before the fire.

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More than 1,000 firefighters and volunteers battled the flames, officials said, but the narrow streets made it difficult for fire trucks to maneuver.

Fire fighters also found that hydrants were empty due to a shutdown in water supply during sub-zero winter conditions, according to Chen Tianchang, head of the fire service for the Deqen Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, the region where the town is located.

The town forms part of a county now called Shangri-La, which with its dramatic scenery claims to have inspired the fictional paradise described in the 1933 novel by British author James Hilton.

The fire also renewed concerns over commercial development in China's ancient towns, which have witnessed growing numbers of tourists in recent years. There have been a string of fires at heritage sites in recent months, Xinhua reported.

In October, a blaze tore down an ancient building complex in Hongjiang, central China and a covered bridge in the Western city of Chongqing was destroyed by fire in November. Another fire also raged in the old town of Lijiang, Yunnan in March.

Li Gang, director of the region's cultural relics protection department, told Xinhua that the traditional gaps between the wood buildings in Dukezong to prevent fires had been filled in by restaurants, shops and guesthouses as "tourism booms."

"We have to reconsider the traditional principle of architecture while enhancing fire extinguishing facilities," Li said.